Swankit's Story
by Nearing Midnight
Summary: New litters of kittens are always welcomed with great joy in PineClan, but not all kits are born perfect; this is the life of one young tom who was born completely deaf, and how he struggles to overcome his disability and be a normal warrior. Includes traditional names and OCs, and is rated T for safety.
1. Author's Note & Allegiances

_New litters of kittens are always welcomed with great joy in PineClan, but not all kits are born perfect; this is the life of one young tom who was born completely deaf, and how he struggles to overcome his disability and be a normal warrior. Includes traditional names, original characters, and is rated T for safety._

**Starting off, I would like to say that all cats in this story have traditional names that follow the rules of Ailuronymy, the source of which you can find at www dot ailuronymy dot tumblr dot com; this means that all prefixes come from real-life things that feral cats would be aware of (you won't find anyone named Crystalheart here) and that there are no 'gendered' prefixes or any of that silliness (ex. the prefix Lily- goes for both toms and she-cats). Names will also be chosen for their usefulness rather than how pretty they sound (the perfectly trad. name Muntjacclaw vs something like Swallowbreeze).**

**I never really approved the fact that the Erins had immediately dismissed Snowkit - the only deaf kitten to ever appear in any of the series - as being unable to become a normal warrior. You can say that Swankit's Story is a bit of a rant-turned-fanfic.**

**All forms of critique are greatly welcomed, and I thank you in advance for your input. Please don't include any outright flaming, however. **

**One last note; the allegiances here are only for our main Clan, PineClan. The other Clans will be revealed later.**

**Thank you for reading, and now onto the allegiances we go.**

ALLEGIANCES OF PINECLAN

**LEADER**:

Sparrowstar (previously Sparrowfoot) - brown she-cat with orange eyes and white tabby markings

**DEPUTY**:

Dustwhisker - brown tabby tom with golden eyes

**MEDICINE CAT:**

Dovepelt - old gray-brown tom with green eyes

_APPRENTICE_: Sedgepaw

**Warriors**

Emberfoot - tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Gingerpelt - ginger tom with green eyes

Jaytail - gray-brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

_APPRENTICE_: Nightpaw

Owlstream - brown dappled she-cat with orange eyes

Reedcloud - golden-brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Spiderclaw - black tom with golden eyes

Fenneltail - light golden tom with green eyes

_APPRENTICE_: Hailpaw

Falconheart - blue-gray and white tom with yellow eyes

**Apprentices**:

Sedgepaw - black she-cat with yellow eyes

Nightpaw - large jet-black tom with green eyes

Hailpaw - pale gray dappled tom with copper eyes

Willowpaw - gray-brown and white tabby she-cat with green eyes

**Queens**:

Cloudface - white she-cat with green eyes and black patches on head/tail

**Kits**:

Laurelkit - white she-kit with amber eyes and black patches on head/tail

Swankit - pure white tom with bright blue eyes

**Elders**:

Bramblefur - brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Bouldercloud - gray-brown tabby tom with yellow eyes


	2. Chapter One: Beginnings

The first thing he was aware of were the deep purrs originating from his sleeping mother beside him. He could tell they were purrs because he could feel them; they were strong, unceasing vibrations that had been the lullaby he fell asleep to for as long as he could remember. He squirmed blindly towards Mother's belly and sought milk, latching onto the duct contently when he found it.

Unexpectedly, his mother stirred and the purrs ceased for a brief moment as she began to stretch; he could feel her muscles tighten then relax, and his hold on the teat faltered. He kicked out in protest at this interruption, flopping onto his back, and wriggled all the more so when a rough tongue rasped over his belly, helping him digest the small meal he had just downed. Greatly aggrieved, the kitten was opening his eyes in annoyance before he fully realized what he was doing.

He blinked, confused at what was happening, and a pair of deep green eyes stared right back into his. Mother looked just as shocked as he was, and as he watched, her eyes narrowed in concern as she looked at something on his face. The anxious look soon faded away to be replaced by joy, however, and soon Mother was plastering his face and ears in loving licks. Her jaws were moving, mouthing something, but he didn't understand why she was doing this. Judging by the brilliant sparkle in her gaze, however, he guessed Mother was extremely excited about something. Maybe opening and closing her mouth was how she expressed excitement.

He blinked again and slowly tottered onto unsteady paws, taking his first steps through their mossy nest while Mother guided him with her plumy tail. He nearly stumbled over a fluffy, curled up mound of something, and nearly thought it was just feathers till he realized that the mound had a muzzle with a tail wrapped tightly around it. He recognized the milky scent of it and realized that this was Sister. Her eyes were shut tight - she must have not opened them yet - and she was white all over save for her black tail and some patches around her ears. Curious, he brought his own tail to his line of vision; it was short, stubby, and completely white. He brought up a paw as well, and a quick inspection deduced it to also be pure white. He looked at his chest, back, and even strained around to glance at his rump; he was white all over, as far as he could see.

He looked back up to Mother and saw her watching him with an amused, affectionate look on her face, and promptly realized that Mother, with her pretty long fur, looked a lot like Sister, with black on her forehead and tail. Despite the twinge of disappointment upon knowing that he didn't look like either of them, there was still Father, whom he hadn't seen yet, to consider; he was also rather proud, in a way, to be different.

Despite the fact that he had only did a limited amount of activity, he was still a kit and had the strength of one; he felt his eyelids drooping swiftly as a sleepy haze began washing over his senses. He dropped where he stood and curled into a little ball, and dimly felt Mother gently bundle him nearer to her stomach, where he began to feed once more. He fell asleep with the sweet scent of milk on his muzzle and the soothing rumbles of Mother's purrs vibrating all around him.


End file.
